Vitalik Buterin questions political pivot by AI safety group that cashed out roughly $500M from his SHIB donation

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed concern that the Future of Life Institute (FLI), which received roughly $500 million from his 2021 Shiba Inu (SHIB) token donation, has pivoted its focus from the original technical roadmap to cultural and political action. Buterin had expected FLI to cash out only $10 million to $25 million due to shallow SHIB liquidity, but the organization liquidated nearly $500 million. He worries that large-scale, politically coordinated action funded by such large sums could lead to authoritarian and fragile outcomes, contrasting with the original plan focused on diverse existential risks. Despite this criticism, Buterin acknowledged being encouraged by some of FLI's recent efforts, such as its "pro-human AI declaration."

(Source：The Block)